We've just posted a blog by Simon Stevens in which he suggests there is a strong case for physical assistance for disabled people to help satisfy sexual desires.

He says in the post:

"When a service user is unable to masturbate due to a lack of hand control and it has been established that the activity would assist with their stress levels and mental well-being, I believe money should be available in their personal assistance funding to pay for someone to help them in this activity."

 Inevitably this would involve sex workers, who many feel are exploited members of society, making this a thorny issue. I'd be interested to hear what people think 

This is actually something I have raised in work, in a half hearted way because I knew the reaction it would get. We cannot possibly assess and plan care using a person centred appraoch without addressing the issue of sexuality, no matter how uncomfortable some staff find the subject.It is an activity that everyone , male and female , does and as Billy Connelly once said....95% of emn masturbate and the other 5% are liars......I recall hearing of a nurse working in a unit with young adult males who were physically disabled and who regularly performed this "service" and according to her so did her colleagues. At the time I was only 18 and horrified !! But being older and wiser (?) I now believe that it is a basic human need but should not be carried out by health and social care staff ( to protect them from allegations of abuse) I joke about hiring a "lady of the night" to come into our place and Attend to one man in particular who has a history of sleepless nights and tends to be very difficult to work with. I believe we would have less aggressive incidents and he would certainly sleep a lot better if his sexual needs were being met. Not all sex industry workers are abused and forced to work in this way but I dont think the UK is ready for this type of proposal..........yet.

I think we do need to address this issue in an adult maaner and not shy away from it because we squirm or feel uncomfortable. I was wondering how other countries deal with this issue and like the other comment do not feel it would be appropriate for health workers to carry out this sevice incase of allergations of abuse. Prostitution has been a topic of many reports and researches. However, if there was ever a need to again look at whether it should be legalised maybe this is the area to say yes it should. I can hear people falling off their perches. I am aware that in many cases young males and females are abused by people and dragged from their homes and forced to have sex, but with all due respect that is a different post, conversation and totally unacceptable in society which should be stamped out. This is purely a sevice for people who cannot satisfy themselves due to their disabilities.

Why not employ a person who is sensitive to the needs of an individual, as long as they do so of their own free will and that it is regulated to prevent abuse. Personally I wouldn't be running to the jobcentre to answer the advert but there are those who would and good on them.    

I know this is a very serious discussion but I cant help sniggering at the person specification and job description that would accompany such a post !! Although you would think that in the 21st century we wouldnt even need to be discussing this issue. I agree that the legalisation of the adult sex workers ( i believe they now have their own union ) would go a long way to addressing this difficult issue. Ive seen programmes on telly where sex for sale is legal in certain parts of the USA and is tightly regulated by health and safety legislation. This would be an excellent way to make inroads but are we perhaps imposing a " youre different from me" scenario on people who ,allegedly, have the same rights, wishes and desires as us ?

 Here is a link to the blog itself, which is worth a read

This is allowing the rights of one group of vulnerable people to overide those of another. Its interesting, and telling, that it is not felt that Social Workers would want to do this as part of their role, and it couldn't be added to the job description of personal assistants. When you look at the facts about prostitution it is clear that women involved in prostitution were also not rushing to the Job Centre to take up these roles.

In 2004 the Home Office carried out a consultation on street prostitution called "Paying The Price". An equivalent consultation was carried out in Scotland called "Being Outside".

"Paying The Price" reported that:

• 70% of those in street prostitution began as children or teenagers
• 85% reported physical abuse in their family
• 45% reported sexual abuse in their family
• 70% spent time in Local Authority care while children

In a survey with people in prostitution in 5 countries, 92% stated that they wanted to escape prostitution immediately (Farley, Baral, Kiremire, Sezgin, (1998)

Canadian studies show that women and girls in prostitution face a homicide rate 40 times higher than the national average (Special Committee on Pornography & Prostitution, 1985) 

To read that some Social Workers are encouraging this form of exploitation and violence is extremely worrying and dangerous.     

For more information about prostitution see: http://www.fcap.btik.com/p_Home.ikml

well done on simon stevens for reopening the one of the last taboos on earth that is disability and sexuality. I hope you are reading these comments, Simon, would be good to have your response. Nic23, you raise an interesting point about the rights of one vulnerable group being raised over another - but you ignore the fact that many members of these so-called "vulnerable groups" - ie disabled people and sex workers - have a strong voice of their own. This has got to be about recognising individual choice -- some sex workers might argue that they do their work by choice - how would you respond to that, or do you think that is just a myth used to justify exploitation? Also, it would be interesting to get the views of a woman with a disability on this --- would any wish for the service simon stevens argues for? Also, to throw another argument in the pot -- surely there are a zillion sex aids out there for all the frustrated men on this planet....the seemingly endless male obsession with sex drives the whole sex industry, after all...

This is turning out to be a highly informative and interesting debate.  Its alright saying people have the rights but implementing those rights clearly has considerable problems. I referred to sex workers only because i can think of no other group who would be interested in supplying this service. However , no insult was intended and I appreciate that many people find themselves in that industry uinwillingly. There must be a way round it though? Maybe we are looking at it from the wrong direction ? Could it be that encouraging and facillitating friendship is the way forward? Most people find their sexual experiences through what begins as frienship and leads onto something to more "intimate".

Someone asked how other countries deal with this issue. Believe it or not, it is an indictable criminal offence in Canada (section 153.1. (1) ) of the Criminal Code, as there is an automatic presumption of dependency. If a social worker/care worker tried to arrange something like this, they would be arrested and charged, even if the person with a disability can indicate they gave consent. I work with children and families, not adults with disabilities, but occasionally come across adults who may have been care workers, and who have been convicted under this part of the Criminal Code. 

Sexual Exploitation of a Person with a Disability

153.1 (1) Every person who is in a position of trust or authority towards a person with a mental or physical disability or who is a person with whom a person with a mental or physical disability is in a relationship of dependency and who, for a sexual purpose, counsels or incites that person to touch, without that person’s consent, his or her own body, the body of the person who so counsels or incites, or the body of any other person, directly or indirectly, with a part of the body or with an object, is guilty of

Hi Nadine Thanks for that. That is very interesting to hear what the Canadians do I was wondering if anyone out there had knowledge on other countries stance on this or no of websites and research where i can have a look. I'm not warped I just find this whole debate extremely interesting.

 I agree it is interesting (I don't think I'm warped either!. I remember there was a programme on TV in which disabled people went over to Holland to see sex workers as it is legal over there... I'm going to try to remember what the programme was called. It's a very thorny issue - is it possible there is no right answer?

I think as the service user movement keeps growing the way it has done, this question will have to be resolved one way or another. I would be interested to know if anyone has done any research into what demand for sex workers among disabled people might be --- ? I assume it would be a minority, therefore probably best left up to individuals, as these things are usually anyway?

I hope I haven't been ignoring the very strong voices of either disabled people or women involved in prostitution. You are right that there are some women who talk about their experiences of prostitution in terms of choice and empowerment but these are a very small minority. I think the fact that 92% of women report wanting to leave prostitution is hugely telling- as well as the clear links between prostitution, substance misuse and previous experiences of violence- especially childhood sexual abuse. Working in the women's sector we have experiences everyday that show us that prostitution is not a real choice for most women- Belle de Jour is a rariety (bordering on myth?) and not the norm. As for legalisation, this too is difficult given the reported incease in trafficking and children being sexually exploited linked to this. (ChildRight report child prostitution rose by over 300% in Amsterdam after legalisation).  

Perhaps the earlier comment about how we enable disabled people to build their own relationships, whether friendships or more intimate, is the way forward- providing a more positive message of relatonships based on equality and respect, and not that we have the right to buy the bodies of others.

I'll tell you something....I will never look at the wee pensioners on the bingo bus in the same light again !!!!!  Ive seen programmes on TV (usually American) where the workers are earning massive amounts of money, recieve regular health checks, pay tax on their earnings and are free from violence and exploitation  due to the professional way the business is carried out. They have alarm systems to use in the event of unexpected danger and wrong doers are instantly banned.  The UK has a long way to go to mimic these types of programmes but for sex workers as a whole this has to be the way forward if we are to exclude the pimps and exploiters of the vulnerable. Everyone is entitled to dignity and respect at work and for those who choose this, the oldest of professions,legislation is required.

The issue for people with physical and mental disabilities is perhaps not so simple !!!!